Community Announcement for NSPIRES and Newsletters:Subject: Draft AO for SOFIA Second Generation Instruments Released for Community CommentRelease Date: December 15, 2010SOFIA Instrument Potential Bidders Telecon: January 26, 2011Comments Due: February 11, 2011Identification Number: NNH11ZDA009JOn December 15, 2010, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ScienceMission Directorate (SMD) is releasing a draft solicitation for community review andcomment, the Draft Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) SecondGeneration Instruments Program Element Appendix (PEA) for the Stand Alone Missions ofOpportunity Notice (SALMON) AO. Upon the release date, the full text of the draftsolicitation will be available at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ .The SOFIA observatory consists of a German-built 2.7-meter telescope mounted in a Boeing747-SP aircraft supplied and modified by NASA. Flying at altitudes up to 45,000-feet,SOFIA observes from above more than 99 percent of Earths atmospheric water vapor,thereby opening windows to the universe not available from the ground. SOFIA will provideinternational science teams up to 1000 science observing hours per year during its twodecade design lifetime. Seven first-generation science instruments are under developmentby institutions in both the U.S. and Germany, including both imaging cameras andspectrographs. This draft solicitation is a call for science investigations that includethe development, delivery, and use of second generation instruments for the SOFIAobservatory. Participation is open to all categories of organizations or institutions includingeducational, industrial, and not-for-profit institutions, Federally Funded Research andDevelopment Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), NASACenters, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), other Government agencies, and non-U.S.organizations or institutions. This draft solicitation will be discussed by NASA at the 217th Meeting of the AmericanAstronomical Society during the Splinter Meeting on Early Results from the SOFIAObservatory, on Tuesday January 11, 2011, at 5:30 7:00 pm PST, in Ballroom 6C of theWashington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, WA.NASA will hold a SOFIA Instrument Potential Bidders Telecon/WebEx on Wednesday, January26, 2011, at 1:00 4:00 pm EST (10:00 am 1:00 pm PST). Details of this Telecon/WebExwill be posted on the SOFIA Instruments PEA Additional Information Homepage, available athttp://soma.larc.nasa.gov/SOFIA/ , in advance of the telecon.The comment period for the Draft SOFIA Second generation Instruments PEA ends on February11, 2011.The issuance of this Draft PEA does not obligate NASA to issue the PEA and solicitproposals. Issuance of this PEA is dependent on programmatic factors including NASAreceiving an appropriation and operating plan containing adequate funding within the NASAastrophysics budget to develop and operate SOFIA as planned. Any costs incurred byprospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this Draft PEA areincurred completely at the submitter's own risk. The SOFIA Second Generation InstrumentsPEA may contain provisions that differ from this Draft PEA, in which case those in thefinal PEA will take precedence. All comments and questions should be directed to the SOFIA Program Scientist by thecomment due date given above. Comments are preferred in writing and may be sent byE-mail; the character string SOFIA Instruments Draft PEA (without quotes) should beincluded in the subject line of all transmissions: Dr. Paul Hertz, Ref.: SOFIAInstruments Draft PEA, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC20546-0001, E-mail:
[email protected]. Responses to all inquiries will be answered byE-mail and also posted at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) location of the SOFIAInstruments PEA Additional Information Homepage at http://soma.larc.nasa.gov/SOFIA/ ;anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.